Derek Lowe seeks to revitalize his career with Indians

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Remember when your mother yelled at you to “stand up straight” when you met friends of your parents?

By SHELDON OCKER | Akron Beacon Journal

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Remember when your mother yelled at you to"stand up straight" when you met friends of your parents?

Apparently, that's what Derek Lowe needed last year. He didn'trequire his mother - or even his pitching coach - to tell him. Heknew he wasn't standing tall on the mound when he delivered apitch, but he couldn't "feel" the slouch in his posture.

Even so, was that a large enough flaw to sink his season andsend his record spiraling to 9-17 with a 5.05 ERA? Bottom line isthis: It doesn't take much to turn a respectable sinker into apitch that flattens out when it crosses the plate.

Lowe depends on his sinker. Always has. This will be his 15thseason in the majors. Pitching to contact and inducing ground ballsrequires a sinker that moves down and away. To do that, a pitchermust remain virtually ramrod straight through his delivery.

"The main thing I had to address (in the offseason) was mymechanics; they were terrible," said Lowe, who was acquired by theIndians from the Atlanta Braves in November for a minor-leaguer. "Iknew what was wrong last year, but there wasn't enough time betweenstarts to fix the problem.

"I could see it (on video), but I couldn't feel it," he said."I'd think I was doing it right, then I'd go look, and I was stilltoo bent over. I must have tried 10, 11, 12 differentdeliveries."

Once the schedule concluded, Lowe knew two things: The Bravesdidn't want him back, and he had to repair his windup.

"Two weeks after the season, I knew I had to address it," hesaid. "The first thing I did was get back in the weight room. As ofright now, it's a non-issue. As far as fixing stuff, I had to fixit, and I did."

Lowe's new manager, Manny Acta, concurs with the pitcher'sanalysis.

"That's the same thing our baseball people pinpointed," he said."It doesn't matter how long you play, you still need coaches, anextra set of eyes. Also, Derek's pitching pattern changed a littlebit last year, the percentage of sliders and fastballs.

"I don't care how good a guy's secondary pitches are. He liveson his fastball, and Lowe threw less of them last year."

Not surprisingly, many observers (Braves personnel probablyamong them) believe Lowe's sub-par season is a sign that age iscatching up with him. After all, shouldn't most athletes begin todisplay "diminishing skills" at age 39 (in June)?

Lowe doesn't think so. He is not a power pitcher who depends ona mid-90s fastball. Nor has he had to learn a different way topitch as the years passed by.

"If something goes wrong and you're young, they say it's becauseyou're young," Lowe said. "If you're a little older, they say,'He'll figure it out,' and if you're older, they say, 'He's justold.' But there are other reasons."

That's also what Acta, thinks.

"This guy continues to pile up innings (187 last year), and hedoesn't break down," Acta said. "So I feel he can bounce back."

Consequently, Lowe views his troubled 2011 season as just a bumpin the road.

"I've had bad seasons before," he said. "That wasn't even myworst season. I went 14-12 with a 5.42 ERA in 2004. But I was ableto redeem myself in the playoffs that year.

"I'm not doing anything different than I've done before. AndI've been fighting the bending-over thing for five years."

Lowe's season spiraled out of control last September, when heposted an 0-5 record and 8.75 ERA.

Worse, the Braves were trying to stay in the pennant race.

"Nobody remembers if it's early in the year," he said. "But theyremember the end."

Did Lowe really pitch that much worse the final month of theschedule, or was he merely the victim of poor results?

"Oh no," he said. "I think I took it to another level (of bad).You don't want to have that kind of season, but it can be amotivational thing for you. It was a very humbling experience."

Athletes are wise to have short memories, and Lowe knows thedrill. He's been too good for too long - six seasons of 15 wins ormore - to let one bad year bother him.

"You look at the year I had, and the fact I'm going to be 39,"he said. "A team still wanted me, so I take that as a compliment.By no means do I feel that this is a make-or-break year or thatthis is the end of my career. I just have to re-establishmyself."